A new patent-pending platform developed by two U of T computer engineering students, promises to take students’ social networking and learning skills and turn them into potential job leads. CoursePeer, a social academic network and talent management platform, allows students to connect, share knowledge, get help and help others, as well as get job opportunities delivered to them based on their activities.

Professors can manage classes, interact with students to address their questions, recommend their contributions and monitor the statistics of their courses all with a click of the mouse. Currently, the platform is active for students and professors; the third component – for employers – will be active in the fall.

“CoursePeer intelligently measures students’ behaviours and activities, and with a student’s permission, matches them with any available job opportunities,” says Hadi Aladdin. “CoursePeer enables employers to post job positions, as well as start receiving smart suggestions for suitable candidates.”

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CoursePeer’s unique offering for employers is greatly supported by Peter Fonseca, former Ontario Minister of Labour, who says “CoursePeer is a brilliant and innovative idea; a platform for employers to spot true talents to ease the process of job interviews and resume review. Employers will greatly benefit from its offering.”

To date, CoursePeer has been piloted by key University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering members, including Professor Philip Anderson, Professor Khoman Phang and Prof. Arno Jacobsen, Bell University Laboratory Endowed Chair in Software and Chair, Computer Engineering Group. Professor Jacobsen, who has been working with CoursePeer says, “This is a new take on educational social networking. It is not Facebook, it is not BlackBoard, but a new approach that embraces the needs of today’s students and faculty, the capabilities that technology offers, and fuses them for an effective learning experience.”

Marwan Aladdin, University of Toronto Computer Engineering graduate and co-founder of CoursePeer says: “Our immediate goal is to roll out CoursePeer to additional faculties throughout the University of Toronto. At the same time, we are identifying additional leading universities throughout North America for expansion and growth.”